Broad Buckler-fern
Dryopteris dilatata
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Dark scales with a black stripe down the middle — the surest way to name it.
A large, spreading fern with broad, triangular, three-times-divided fronds giving a lacier look than male fern, and — the reliable identifying feature — pale brown scales on the stalk each carrying a dark central stripe. Broad buckler-fern is common in damp woodland, on shaded banks, in conifer plantation and on moorland edge around Dumfries.
Behaviour
It tolerates acidic, peaty and boggy ground better than most large ferns, which is why it is so abundant in the region's conifer plantations and wet oakwoods, often growing on rotting stumps and among boulders. Fronds are semi-evergreen, persisting in a battered state through a mild winter. Spores are borne in kidney-shaped clusters beneath.
When to see it
Quick facts
- Family
- Wood ferns (Dryopteridaceae)
- Frond
- 50–150 cm, broadly triangular
- Status
- Native; abundant on acid and peaty ground
Photo by Southgeist, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons